Why India has relatively fewer cases of COVID-19

Check out why India has fewer cases of Coronavirus:

India has reported 2069 coronavirus cases with 53 deaths. The country saw its single biggest jump of 386 cases in the last 24 hours, with Delhi’s Markaz Nizamuddin religious gathering contributing most of the cases. Still, India is one of the few countries that has reported the lowest number of cases versus its population.

As per Worldometer – India has one COVID-19 confirmed case and 0.03 deaths for every 1 million population while the global average is 113.2 cases and 5.7 deaths.

These numbers led experts to think why India has so few cases, despite having the world’s second-largest population and a weak healthcare system. Check out some of the reasons below:

  • Not enough testing

Till now India has tested about 47,951 persons. We also have narrow testing, i.e. we test only those with travel history to affected areas or those who came into contact with a COVID-19 positive case. This shows that India is not testing enough.

  • Lockdown

India is observing one of the world’s largest lockdown, asking people to stay home and practice social distancing. The objective of lockdown is to cut human contact and reduce the number of cases. These are too early days to judge the impact of the lockdown, but it is helping in reducing the number of cases.

  • Lack of self-assessment tests

The symptoms of coronavirus like cough, cold, fever and shortness of breath are very common. And Indians self-medicate or does not consider it as a concern. Unless there is a self-assessment test it is difficult to identify cases.

  • BCG vaccination

The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is now considered as a possible reason for low COVID-19 cases in India. The vaccine is universally administered in India to protect against tuberculosis

  • Temperature

There is still no evidence that a rise in heat and humidity might slow down the transmission of coronavirus, many experts feel it is possible. Experts say: Most viruses will not be able to survive in temperatures beyond 45 degrees, that we know.

Here’s hoping for better days soon!